The present application is directed to a pill dispenser and, in particular, to such a dispenser having multiple pill receiving chambers that are covered by a single lid when not in use and which are protected by a child resistant latch.
Many persons are required for medical reasons to take one or more prescription or over the counter medication pills at multiple times during a day and/or for multiple days during a week. It is difficult for persons to remember when such pills should be taken and persons with failing memory are even more taxed to remember what should be taken and when, as compared to the population in general.
Consequently, pill dispensers having trays or the like with multiple cavities or chambers have been developed for use by takers of multiple pills. The cavities can be filled and labeled by date or time so the person using the device can readily determine when something should be taken and what has already been taken.
Almost any medicine is a potential hazard to a child for whom the medicine is not intended. Children, especially very young children, will put almost anything in their mouths, including pills. Children often try to open containers and can be poisoned, overdosed or otherwise harmed by taking pills that are not intended for them.
Therefore, it is important to protect pill dispensers from access by children. Various child resistant devices have been provided in the past to secure screw-on lids to bottles of pills, as well as various types of child resistant closures for other types of pill holding devices. It is found that it is desirable to improve on the type of child resistant latches previously available and/or to offer alternative devices.
While child resistant devices can be effective in preventing access by children, they can sometimes be over effective and prevent access to the person for whom the pills are intended. In particular, many persons that require pills are infirm or lack coordination for one reason or another, such that they are unable to open a pill dispenser with complicated or hard to operate child resistant closures. For example, persons with arthritis may have trouble opening some closures.
In some instances such as where the person taking the pills lives alone or at least without any children, it may be desirable to have a pill dispenser that can easily be converted from being child resistant to being easy to open so that the infirm or the like can have access. Consequently, there is need for a pill dispenser having multiple pill holding chambers that are covered by a lid that can alternatively be locked in a closed position that is highly child resistant or easy to open for the infirm and relatively easy to convert between such configurations.
A pill dispenser is provided that includes a tray with a plurality of compartments, including chambers, cavities or the like, that are sized and shaped to receive pills. Preferably, the compartments are arranged in side by side relationship and may be arranged in a single column or arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. Preferably, each of the compartments includes an independent hinged lid that can be moved to open or close each compartment independently. The compartment lids preferably are also labeled to indicate a day or hour at which time the contents should be taken.
The dispenser also includes a lid that is connected to the tray at one side by a hinge and is selectively joined to the tray on an opposite side by a latch mechanism. The dispenser lid is preferably sized and shaped to cover at least part of the compartment lids when the closure lid is in a closed configuration thereof in such a way as to secured the compartment lids closed, when the dispenser lid is in the closed configuration. It is foreseen that the dispenser lid may be subdivided into multiple units each of which have a hinge and latch mechanism and which secure different groups of compartment lids.
The dispenser lid hinge is designed such that the dispenser lid cannot be disengaged at the hinge from the tray, when the dispenser lid is closed. Preferably, the hinge allows easy attachment or removal of the dispenser lid relative to the tray when the dispenser lid is in an open configuration thereof.
The latch mechanism includes first and second parts or portions which are respectively fixedly attached to the tray and dispenser lid respectively. It is foreseen that the latch mechanism portions can be interchanged.
The first latch portion includes an elongate tongue that is hingedly attached at a lower end to a first of the tray or dispenser lid. The tongue includes a first shoulder in spaced relation from where the tongue is hinged. Further, the tongue includes a second shoulder spaced yet further from the tongue hinge as compared to the first shoulder. The tongue has a first locking configuration and a second non-locking configuration.
Attached to the second of the tray and the dispenser lid is a second part or portion that includes a latching bar. The bar is sized, shaped and positioned to be engaged and captured by the tongue first shoulder and thereby secure the dispenser lid in a closed configuration when the latch is in the locking configuration thereof and the dispensing lid is in a closed configuration thereof.
An upper end of the tongue spaced from the tongue hinge is engagable by a finger of a user to allow a user to push against and depress or modify the shape of the tongue so the first shoulder disengages from the bar. This releases the bar and allows the dispenser lid to partially open; however, before the dispenser lid can be opened completely, the bar engages the tongue second shoulder. In order to fully open the dispenser lid the tongue must again be depressed to disengage the bar from the second shoulder so the dispenser lid can be completely opened. Therefore, the tongue must be independently depressed or otherwise modified twice in order to allow the dispenser lid to be fully opened, thereby making the dispenser lid child resistant, when the latch tongue is in the locking configuration. The dispenser lid and tray also include gripping regions or ears to allow an adult to grip and open the device.
Therefore, the objects of the present invention are: to provide a pill dispenser having a plurality of compartments that are covered at least in part by a common closure lid that is secured in a closed configuration by a latch mechanism that is interchangeable between a child resistant configuration and an easy open configuration for use by the infirm; to provide such a dispenser having such a latch that has a tongue that is hinged and can be moved between a locking position and a non-locking position; to provide such a dispenser having such a latch mechanism wherein the tongue has a pair of spaced shoulders that are sized and shaped to sequentially engage and hold a bar when the tongue is in the locking position thereof such that the tongue must be depressed or otherwise manipulated at least twice in order to fully open the dispenser lid and gain access to pills in the dispenser; and to provide such a dispenser that is easy to use, comparatively inexpensive to produce and especially suited for the intended usage thereof.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.